What a beautiful day
by ANNAFLORINDA
Summary: A story of Merlin & Arthur's relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**Day one.**

Arthur Pendragon was a very successful and well-paid lawyer. though he was not always the happiest person, he did posses a great deal of self-confidence. When he had declared his sexuality to his sister, Morgana, and their dad, Uther, he had been afraid that they would turn his back on him, but, instead, they had shown him nothing but support and love.

Arthur had lost his mother at a very young age and this made him closer to the remaining family he had left. Morgana, who was two years his junior, was married to her long-term girlfriend, Gwen, and they had recently adopted a baby girl, whom they had named Vivinne, after Morgana's mother, who had been Uther's second wife.

At the age of 30, Arthur had now had a couple of boyfriends; his most recent relationship had been with a man named Gawaine, with whom he had been friends in secondary school. They had been together for 2 years and had even been engaged to be married, but Arthur had broken off, both their engagement and relationship; he knew deep down that Gawaine had not been his soul mate.

He wanted, more than anything, to find that person and hold him forever and ever.

**Ω Ω Ω**

"Mordred-come on!" Merlin Ambroise shouted up the stairs to his 10-year-old son. "You're going to be late for Auntie Gwen and Aunt Morgana's."

Walking down the stairs, Mordred rolled his eyes and replied, "Yes, Dad, I know. I'm not an idiot. On the bright side, I get to see Vivvie."

Merlin smiled at his son's emphasum. He could hardly believe that Mordred was 10 and that he was 28.

In the car, on the way to Morgana and Gwen's, Mordred asked, "Aunt Morgana has a brother, doesn't she? Have you ever met him?"

Shaking his head, Merlin replied that he had not. It was a lie; he had known Arthur Pendragon at secondary school, he had been a bully and from what his foster-sister, Gwen, had told him, age had not altered the billionaire's son.

"Dad?" This time, his son's tone was different and it worried Merlin. "Dad, why-why do I never see Mithian?"

Merlin's hand tightened on the steering whell. He inhaled a deep breath in order to compose himself, then asked, "Do you want to see her, Mordred?"

Mordred shook his head. "No. I just-when I'm older will you explain it to me, Dad?"

The car pulled up in front of Gwen and Morgana's house. Merlin turned to his son and replied, "Yes, I will."

Mordred's blue eyes-his eyes-let up and he hugged his dad, before getting out of the car and Merlin made his way out of the other side.

Merlin said a brief 'hello' to Gwen, Morgana and Vivienne and was about to get back into the car, when a voice from behind him said his name.

"Merlin Ambroise? Is that you?"

Relucantly, he turned to see Arthur Pendragon, a man whom he had dipiced at secondary school for bullying him, for being gay.

Arthur smiled. "How are you, Merlin?"

"I'm fine. How are you?" Merlin asked, in a montone voice.

Tilting his head, Arthur replied, "Well-I don't know if Morgana or Gwen told you, but I-er-I broke up with Gawaine."

Merlin felt himself warm to Arthur as he mentioned that; Arthur had always denied who he was-when Merlin had known him years before, anyway. "I'm sorry."

Arthur shook his head, dismissively, then inquired, "So, Mordred, he's yours?"

"Yes." answered Merlin, not wanting to go into the details; he was sure that Arthur had many questions concerning from where Mordred had come. Thankfully, Arthur took the hint, then he asked, "What are you doing on Saturday, Merlin?"

Frowning, Merlin asked, "What?"

Arthur looked down at the floor and came closer. In a whisper, he said. "Merlin, I regret hurting you when we were kids. The truth was-is-I was jealous of you and I-I liked you."

It took Merlin a couple of seconds to process what Arthur had just told him; he had always assumed that Arthur had bullied him because he had been an arce of a person, but it did put some things into prespective. "Are you asking me out, clotpole?" Merlin inquired, with a smile on his face.

Smiling and reisting the urge to gaze into Merlin's eyes, Arthur nodded and replied, "Yeah, I am."

"Right, then-er. Gwen's looking after Mor's on Saturday, so we could"-

"I'll take you out for dinner. At 8:oo. I'll pick you up."

Despite himself, Merlin smiled and backed away. "Fine, Saturday, 8:oo."

"Great." Arthur smiled, then walked back to the house.

When he was sure that Merlin was far away, he did his 'victory dance'; he was no longer afraid of the truth; he liked Merlin.

That evening, after Mordred was in bed, Merlin was sitting on the sofa and reading, but he could not concentrate. There were three people who had been playing on his mind: Mordred, Arthur and…Mithian.

Arthur… Mithian….


	2. Day two

**Day 2.**

On Saturday morning, Arthur was in a panic; he hadn't been on a date since he had been with Gawaine and, now, that seemed like a life-time ago. He had wanted this date since his first conversation with Merlin, when they had first met at secondary school and he did not want to mess it up.

Morgana came round to his flat to help him with chosing an outfit and she gave him advice about what not to do on a date. They were very close for a half-brother and sister and they trusted each other implicitly.

At 8:oo, Arthur made his way to Merlin and Mordred's house (Gwen had given him the address) to pick Merlin up. One thing he didn't quite understand was how Mordred was Merlin's son; he was planning on asking him that night.

During the main cource, they discussed what they had done since secondary school and what their jobs were. Arthur noticed that Merlin didn't mention having a patner or Mordred's birth and he began to question wheather he should be asking such a personal question. Afterall, this was their first date and he had bullied Merlin at school, so he had every right not to trust him.

"Are you close to Vivinne?" inquired Merlin, as their desert arrived.

Arthur brought himself back to reality, smiling, and replied, "Yes, I am. I've been spending more time with her and Morgana since Gawaine and I broke up." There was a silence, then he added, "Do you remember Gawaine?"

His companion nodded slightly, but didn't seem to want to go on any farther with the conversation. "How's your father?"

Snorting, Arthur answered, "Let' just say he wasn't too happy that both of his kids turned out to be gay! Morgana came out first and I was terrified about doing it! We're close and he loves Vivvie, but…" he trailed off. "What about your mum?"

Merlin had grown up with his mum; his father had left before he had been born and he had never known him.

"She-she's in hospital," answered Merlin, looking Arthur in the eyes, audibly swallowing, "they-they don't know if she's going to make it."

"I'm sorry." Arthur reached his hand and it touched Merlin's. Their eyes met, then Arthur tried to move his face closer to Merlin's, but Merlin moved abruptly, and said, "Arthur! Before we kiss, you need to know something about me."

"Whar?" asked Arthur.

Looking down at the table, Merlin whispered, "I can't tell you yet. I'll tell you next time."

Blushing, Arthur asked, "Is there going to be a next time?"

Their eyes met and Merlin grinned; it made Arthur's knees feel weak.

There was no need for an answer; even if it turned out to be nothing, they would have the friendship of the other if nothing else.

After having dinner, Arthur drove Merlin back to Morgana and Gwen's, from where they picked up Mordred, then Arthur drove them home.

Mordred jumped out of the car, saying 'thankyou'.

"Thanks, Arthur," Merlin said, "it was a lovely meal."

Arthur smiled back and moved his hand across so that it touched Merlin's. To his surprise, Merlin adjusted his hand so that it was on top of his.

Merlin looked up from their hands and saw that Arthur was staring at him, in the way Mithian had; with love.

Resisting the urge to kiss Arthur, Merlin moved his hand from Arthur's and said, "I'll text you, OK?"

Arthur nodded.

After Merlin was out of the car, Arthur called him back and he came.

"I just wanted to say your eyes look beautiful." remarked Arthur, trying to convey his emotions for Merlin with his eyes and voice.

No reply came, but a smile did.

Much later that evening, Merlin texted Arthur, addressing him as his boyfriend. They spent the rest of their time texting each other until the early hours of the morning, until Merlin signed off, saying that Mordred always came to wake him up in the morning.

Laughing, Arthur switched off his phone and lay back on his bed.

Merlin had called him his boyfriend.


	3. Day 14

Day 14.

It was a couple of weeks later and Merlin and Arthur had now been dating for that long. In that time, Arthur had begun to know Mordred better, through seeing him with Gwen, Morgana and Vivienne. He still didn't know why Merlin was so reluctant to tell him from where Mordred had come, but he waiting patiently.

It was Friday evening, and Mordred was at a friend's house for a sleepover, which meant that Merlin and Arthur arranged to meat up.

They went to the cinema to watch 'Les Miserables'. Arthur had not relised quite how sad it was until he had been it and now he understood why Morgana and Gwen had cried so much. Merlin seemed to be enjoying it, and Arthur ended up doing so too.

After the film, as it was still really light, they decided to for a walk in the park.

As they were walking around, Merlin suddenly said, "Alright, clotpole. I'm ready to tell you."

"Tell me what?" asked Arthur, genuinely bewildered.

"Where Mordred came from." replied Merlin, in a stale, yet caring voice; this was very hard for him to talk about.

Arthur only nodded and stayed silent, waiting for his boyfriend to continue; he could see that this was hard for Merlin.

Inhaling a deep breath, Merlin began, hoping that his heart could take it. "Do you rembmber Mithian Walters? She was one of my best friends at school-besides, Gwen and Morgana. She was kind and gentel. When-when we were 18, she was off sick for 6 months, remember?"

Arthur allowed himself to nod.

"That was because was she pregnant," Merlin paused, before adding, "with my child: with Mordred."

They stopped walking. Staring at him in a perplexed manner, Arthur remarked, "I thought-I thought you were"-

"I like boys and girls," snapped Merlin; he was very defensive about this, "Mith and I were drunk-we dating, unknown to the rest of the school- and-well, I guess we didn't use what we were supposed to use, and then she ended up pregnant with Mordred."

Pressing his lips together, Arthur inquired, "So, what happened?"

Merlin sat down on the bench and Arthur sat down next to him, waiting for him to continue. Merlin had a painful lump in his throat, which made him want to cry. "Mordred was born and we-we told each that we loved each other. It was that simple. We kept Mor and our relationship a secret-that's why nobody knew. Anway, a year later, I asked her to marry me and she-she said 'yes'." A smile of happiness apared on Merlin's face, but his boyfriend could also see the sadness in his eyes. "Everything was fine unti-until Mordred was 4, when Mithian left. She said-she said she didn't love me or Mordred anymore. We divorced, she signed the custody papers and that's that. That's why my son doesn't know his mother. I-I loved her."

Instead of giving words of condolence, Arthur leaned forward and kissed. It was their first kiss. For a while, Merlin's lips stayed still, but then he kissed Arthur back and the kiss became more passionate. Arthur had kissed Gawiane before, but it had been nothing like this; he and Merlin were soul mates and they had finally found each other-after all of those years.


	4. Day 482

Day 482.

A year passed and little changed; the only major events which had occurred was that Merlin's mum had been released from hospital and that Arthur had moved in with Merlin and Mordred. And, Merlin and Arthur were engaged to be married; Mordred was going to be their paige boy, Vivianne their flower girl and Morgana and Gwen, their bridemaids.

On the day of the wedding, they stood facing each other, hand in hand, prepared to comit to the other for the rest of their lives.

"I, Arthur Pendragon, take thee, Merlin Ambroise, to be my lawfully wedded husband. In sickness and in health; till death do us part."

Merlin's blue eyes were glistening with tears and he had to inhale a deep breath, before saying: "I, Merlin Ambroise, take thee, Arthur Pendragon, as my lawfully wedded husband. In sickness and in health; till death do us part."

Slowly, never losing eye contact, Arthur held Merlin's hand and slipped the ring onto his finger.

Merlin squeezed his hand and whispered, "I do."

He and Arthur kissed, both filled with euthoria; they were now married-together, till death parted them.


	5. Day 761

Day 761.

Merlin threw something in front of Arthur on the kitchen table, where the latter had been reader the sports news on his iPad.

"What's this?" Arthur asked.

Stirring his coffee, Merlin replied, "Open it."

Rolling his eyes, Arthur did so. He stared at the papers in his hands, then, turning to his husband, asked, "Merlin-Merlin, how did you do this?"

Merlin sat down opposite him, smiling. "I managed to contact Mithian. We had a talk, a told her of our relationship and she agreed to it; it turns out that she lives in Santiago with her new husband, and their adopted baby." He paused for a second, smiling sadley. Arthur squeezed his hand; Mithian had been Merlin's first love and he could never forget her. "Anyway, then I asked Mordred. Of cource, he agreed to it straight away."

"Is it all legal?" inquired Arthur.

Laughing, Merlin replied, "Yes, Arthur." He paused, then asked, "You are happy, aren't you?"

Before Arthur could answer, Mordred came in. He saw the papers in Arthur's hands and asked, "Are you officially my other dad?"

Arthur opened his arms and his son-newly adopted son-rushed into his arms, resting his head on him. He looked to Merlin, who was smiling with the joy of seeing their son so happy.

It was official: Arthur Pendragon was the son of Mordred, all thanks to Merlin.


	6. Day 8153

Day 8153: Epilouge.

It was now 50 years since Merlin and Arthur had married.

Morgana and Gwen's daughter, Vivinne, was married to Mithian's adopted son and they had 4 children; three boys and two girls. Mordred had managed to build up a relationship with his mother, which had pleased him and both of his fathers.

Mordred himself, who was now in his 40s, was married to a woman named Luciana; together, they had two children: Alexandra, who looked very much like Merlin, and Bento. Alex was 18 and Benton was14. They loved their grandfathers more than anything-appart from their parents and aunts and uncles.

It was Christmas Eve and the entire family was together.

Sitting together, watching their family, Merlin and Arthur were thinking the same thing and they knew it.

I thank God I said 'hello' on Day One, because none of what is before me would have happened.


End file.
